


The Cloudy Road

by AndyAO3



Series: Angry Marshmallows and Sad Robots [10]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Minor Spoilers, Plot Devices, Sad Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 23:11:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5434364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndyAO3/pseuds/AndyAO3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A3-21 isn't afraid anymore. Not for his own sake, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cloudy Road

**Author's Note:**

> Just giving myself the opening for more, should I ever choose to take up this line of thinking.
> 
> Ted really, _really_ abuses his I'm The Lone Wanderer And The Citadel Would Be A Hole In The Ground Without Me privs. Yes, Cass came with Veronica. They are dating in this.

The noise of the Prydwen's engines was a constant background hum, like the thrum of electrical lifeblood through her pipeline veins into her steel heart. Ted had mentioned that it reminded him of the eternal low-key noise levels present in a working Vault, the sound of generators and purifiers and filtrations. Then he'd gone on a neat little tangent about the subliminal effects of such constantly maintained noise levels.

Harkness had chuckled. He did so more easily than he had when they'd first met. Did a lot of things more easily, honestly-- possibly more easily than any android should have any right to. But the reason they were aboard the Prydwen in the first place was no laughing matter, so a chuckle here or there in the interim was a welcome reprieve from his own thoughts.

The Railroad was in trouble, and the Brotherhood was on the warpath. Ted had speculated that this was no coincidence. That _something_ was going on in the Commonwealth, and that Boston was at the heart of something big. Harkness didn't know. His time in the Mojave had made him wary of human ideas about fate. To him, it just seemed that when one piled a bunch of happenstance things on top of one another, one would always end up with a system that closely resembled an overfilled water balloon; ready to pop at any moment and extremely likely to make a mess in the process.

He'd gotten better at metaphors over the years. Gotten better at... Well, everything to be honest. So had Ted. Like they'd grown into their strengths more readily because each of them had the other to compensate for any weaknesses that might pop up.

So it hurt - the kind of hurt that clawed at his processes, stilled and quieted him even after so many years - to know that, right then, the only weakness Harkness had was the one sleeping soundly while curled up next to his chest. Tucked under his arm in what had become one of their customary positions, soft white hair mussed. His little human. His kind, brave human who meant everything to him. Harkness wasn't afraid for himself. Not anymore. He was afraid for what might be taken away from him should he fail as a protector.

But to not take Ted with him would be just as unthinkable. He could undertake missions on his own, but this was more than a simple mission. No one knew how long it would drag on for. No one could predict how dangerous it might be or what form it might take.

The door to their shared cabin - Ted's cabin, but his rank allowed for such things as bringing Harkness with him - popped open, and a dark-haired woman with a round, friendly face poked her head in. "Hey guys, the folks belowdecks are saying tha--"

Harkness glared at her.

"--oooh." Veronica clapped her hand over her mouth, cringing. "Sorry," she whispered. "Should I come back later?"

A moment's mental debate followed, and soon after that, a sigh. "No. It's fine. Just keep it down." Harkness shifted just enough to gently put a hand over Ted's ear. Thankfully, the human was deep enough in his sleep cycle that the only indication he'd been disturbed at all was a faint, sleepy mumble.

"Right!" The woman straightened and cleared her throat-- quietly, of course. "We're gonna be arriving in the Commonwealth soon. ETA's about two hours."

"I'm sure Cass is thrilled about that," Harkness remarked.

Veronica snorted. "She's never gonna leave dry land again after this. If we ever head back west it'll be by way of pack brahmin."

"Still airsick?"

"Ayep. If I had a cap for every time I've had to hold her hair, I'd maybe have enough to buy up enough Abraxo to get the smell out of my other set of fatigues."

Harkness had to smile at that. "Or buy a new set of fatigues, ideally."

"Nah, you don't buy Brotherhood fatigues. They're given to you. Usually in the wrong size and an unflattering color." Veronica shrugged lightly, offering a smirk of her own. "Still better than the potato sack robes."

"It's good to see you're adjusting to the eastern branch."

"What's there to adjust to? These days it isn't that different from the western branch."

The warm body curled up against the android's own shifted."You two are fucking loud," Ted grumbled, lifting his head enough to glower at Veronica.

"And you're supposed to be sleeping." She stopped trying to whisper, though. Probably a good thing, since she was sort of bad at whispering. "Maxson's probably gonna throw a speech together when we land. You may be able to get away with not being there, but I'd suggest showing up anyway just in case."

"Noted," Harkness said. "Tell Cass drinks are on me when we inevitably hit Diamond City."

Veronica laughed. "Hah! Well, Six, I'm sure she'll appreciate the thought."

Having said everything she needed to say, Veronica disappeared from the doorway without another word. Leaving Harkness with a grumpy, sleepy human to tend to.

The grumpy, sleepy human in question made a noise that was the vocal embodiment of annoyance. "I'm so not going to show up if Maxie tries to do a speech," he said, rolling over so his back was to Harkness's chest and his face was pressed to the android's arm.

And that? That was fine by Harkness. He hadn't intended to go to any speeches either.

 


End file.
